Features – Page 3 – Kaitiaki Nursing New Zealand

June 2025

Nursing sisters overcome the odds

By Renee Kiriona

June 4, 2025

The Witton sisters have weathered a pandemic, cyclone, poverty, two jobs each and multiple other challenges during their three-year journey to becoming qualified nurses.

May 2025

Military nurses mark 110th anniversary at Hawke’s Bay Hospital Anzac Day service

By Te Ope Kātua o Aotearoa Defence Force staff

May 8, 2025

The 110th anniversary of the formation of the New Zealand Defence Force’s Royal New Zealand Nursing Corps (RNZNC) was celebrated at the annual Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital Anzac Day service.

May 2025

Māori health comes alive for nursing students at Te Matatini

By Helen Bingham, Billie-Jean James, Helen Lelean, Tara Malone, Rachel Neild, Trish Sison, & Casey Trownson

May 7, 2025

A health clinic at the Māori performing arts festival, Te Matatini, provided an unconventional but inspirational venue for nursing students’ clinical placements.

June 2025

Dhyanne Hohepa: ‘A light in the dark for Māori nurses’

By Renee Kiriona

May 6, 2025

Dhyanne Hohepa is a leader among Māori nurses driven by aroha and passionate about clinical excellence.

May 2025

‘Tech is good for Māori and Māori is good for tech’: It’s cool to kōrero — April 2025

By Kathy Stodart

April 17, 2025

Auē! Kua wareware i a au taku kupuhipa. — Oh no! I’ve forgotten my password.

April 2025

Theatre nurse pioneer and founder of The Dissector dies

By Michael Esdaile

April 8, 2025

Pamela Marley, a theatre nursing pioneer who helped found the country’s first professional perioperative nursing group, has died.

April 2025

Māori nursing leaders fight attack on Māori health – SOS to United Nations underway

By Renee Kiriona

March 28, 2025

In the last two remaining NZNO leadership profiles, Kaitiaki talks to Te Rūnanga o Aotearoa NZNO kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku and tumu whakarae Tracy Black. They share the mahi done so far and their focus for the rest of the year.

April 2025

Māori health professor with terminal bowel cancer on what screening changes really mean

By Joel Maxwell

March 24, 2025

Is it robbing Pita to save Paul? Redirecting bowel cancer screening cash will save more Pākehā lives, not more Māori lives, explains nurse and health professor Jacquie Kidd who got her terminal bowel cancer diagnosis before her own test kit arrived in the mail.

April 2025

‘Distressed IQNs, a distressed domestic workforce, and distressed new graduates’ — a nursing pipeline and workforce in crisis

By Kathy Stodart

March 11, 2025

The Government spent more than $50 million on the recruitment and education of migrant nurses in the two years after COVID-19 pandemic restrictions ended, which has led to a serious imbalance in the nursing workforce.

March 2025

Chief nurse opens up on the challenges of working at Te Whatu Ora

By Mary Longmore

February 27, 2025

Despite grief at the “once in a generational opportunity” lost with the dissolution of Te Aka Whai Ora/Māori Health Authority, chief nurse Nadine Gray tells Kaitiaki she will not stop raising its Māori health kaupapa.

March 2025

‘We are potentially watching our daughter die’ — Christchurch nurse aide’s plea for help

By Mary Longmore

February 14, 2025

A Christchurch family say they have been unable to get the specialist inpatient care they desperately need after their adult anorexic daughter Emma Gallagher severely relapsed last year.

March 2025

Former NZ mental health nurse finds peace working at holistic Swedish hospice

By Annelie Gannaway

February 13, 2025

Former mental health nurse Annelie Gannaway explains why the hospice she works in is not a sad place.

March 2025

Cathy Andrew — a passionate advocate for regional education

By the Communications team, University of Canterbury

February 7, 2025

Helping establish graduate-entry and advanced nursing practice courses have been highlights of Cathy Andrew’s role as executive dean of the University of Canterbury’s faculty of health.

January 2025

Treaty Principles Bill will further harm Māori health

By Renee Kiriona

January 14, 2025

A nursing leader is concerned Māori will not get the chance to live longer and the same as non-Māori in New Zealand, if the coalition Government continues to attack the Treaty of Waitangi.

December 2024

‘It is gaslighting’ — nurses refute Levy’s claims hospitals are fully staffed

By Mary Longmore

December 11, 2024

Te Whatu Ora says it’s fully staffed with nurses and kaiāwhina — yet it won’t reveal how many shifts were below safe staffing targets in 2024.

January 2025

Safe staffing and stronger community health care — returning president and vice-president share their aims

By Mary Longmore

December 9, 2024

In the first of two leadership profiles, Kaitiaki talks to returning NZNO president Anne Daniels and vice-president Nano Tunnicliff about their priorities.

December 2024

A report from the nursing frontline in Rwanda and Ukraine

By Andrew Cameron

December 2, 2024

Nursing has taken Andrew Cameron all over the world on humanitarian missions. He reports here on his latest work in Rwanda and Ukraine.

December 2024

It’s cool to kōrero — Nov 2024

By Kathy Stodart

November 28, 2024

Mangu — black

December 2024

The hidden lens: Uncovering pathology through a nurse’s intuition

By James Lewis

November 21, 2024

This case highlights the critical role of intuition and expertise in patient care, particularly within community and midwifery settings, where these professionals build relationships with patients over time.

November 2024

Tiriti o Waitangi 101

By Tim Rochford

November 15, 2024

NZNO Māori policy advisor Tim Rochford explains why te Tiriti o Waitangi is important to NZN0-Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa

23 Sept	Auckland University research finds nurse shortages increase post-surgery deaths and complications New research by Auckland University has found addressing nurse shortages in post-operative care may save 182 lives a year because short-staffed wards have higher rates of potentially preventable deaths and complications after their surgeries.
21 Sept	Exasperated Muriwai Ward nurses strike again over unsafe staffing Nurses and health care assistants working on the Muriwai Ward at Waitākere Hospital will strike for the second time this year after last ditch efforts to resolve unsafe staffing concerns with Te Whatu Ora collapsed, NZNO says.
21 Sept	Whanganui Hospital ED averaged 680% capacity over a week Working in an overcrowded emergency department (ED), up to 680% capacity over a week, makes staff feel overwhelmed with the pressure, Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO says.
14 Sept	WellSouth's Newborn Enrolment Kahu Taurima Programme a finalist at the Primary Care Awards 2026 WellSouth's Newborn Enrolment Kahu Taurima Programme is a finalist at the Primary Care Awards for the HALEO Best Supplier Service, Product or Campaign category. Winners will be announced on 17 October.
14 Sept	Global Study: Nursing Shortages Require Workforce Policy Solutions, Not Recruitment Campaigns Alone Why people choose nursing, and why they leave, comes down to the same factors. The global nursing shortage cannot be solved simply by encouraging more people to enter the profession, according to a new evidence brief.
8 Sept	Overworked, understaffed Gisborne ED staff strike Health and safety concerns arising from unsafe staffing levels have forced nurses at Gisborne Hospital’s emergency department (ED) to go on strike.
4 Sept	Strong growth in wāhine Māori and Pacific women’s cervical screening rates highlights success of self-testing programme Cervical screening participation has increased significantly for both wāhine Māori and Pacific women, reflecting the strong impact of self-testing, Screening Services and the dedicated efforts of health providers working alongside their communities.
4 Sept	Government must adopt Wai 2713 recommendations on disability system The Coalition Government must urgently adopt new recommendations from the Waitangi Tribunal which has found significant parts of the disability system prejudice tāngata whaikaha Māori (Māori with disabilities), NZNO says.
31 Aug	Employing graduate nurses will help keep them in nursing and the country A new proposal that will require Te Whatu Ora to offer all eligible graduate nurses jobs in the public health system will help keep them in nursing and in Aotearoa New Zealand, NZNO says.
26 Aug	Health Minister’s claim Winter Plan ‘managing well’ delusional Health Minister Simeon Brown’s claim that hospitals are ‘managing well’ because of the Government’s Winter Plan is delusional, NZNO says.
25 Aug	Hospital data shows nursing shortages continue to put patients at risk Te Whatu Ora data released today shows patients are continuing to be put at risk by the Coalition Government’s deliberate failure to safely staff hospital wards, NZNO says.
24 Aug	Fed-up North Shore ED staff declare state of emergency NZNO members working in the emergency department (ED) at North Shore Hospital have declared a state of emergency due to unsafe staffing levels resulting in ongoing overcrowding.
19 Aug	What happened to the winter health plan? The $25 million 2026 Winter Plan launched by Health Minister Simeon Brown in March to erase pressure on the health system has been an unmitigated disaster, Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO says.
11 Aug	Applications open for advanced nursing education programmes Health New Zealand is encouraging registered nurses to apply for two advanced education programmes that support nurses to further develop their clinical skills and expand access to care in communities across New Zealand.
3 Aug	Health New Zealand welcomes settlement of NZRDA collective agreement Health New Zealand welcomes the vote by New Zealand Resident Doctors Association (NZRDA) members to settle their collective agreement.
30 Jul	Backing our frontline rural health workforce Rural communities across New Zealand will benefit from three new investments that will support the rural health workforce and help more people access care closer to home, Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey says.
22 Jul	Te Whatu Ora must disclose staffing levels at time of tragic death Te Whatu Ora must disclose whether the Waikato emergency department (ED) was short-staffed at the time a man tragically died in the waiting room, NZNO says.
6 Jul	Reflecting on IND 2026 Looking back on last month’s International Nurses Day 12 May 2026 (IND 2026), the impact of this year's theme "Our Nurses. Our Future. Empowered Nurses Save Lives" continues to resonate across the world. ICN’s landmark IND 2026 report defined seven key powers of nursing and this message has been strengthened with nurses in every region celebrating, naming, and owning their powers throughout May.
3 Jul	Health New Zealand acknowledges Ombudsman statement on Wakari Ward 10A Health NZ welcomes the independent investigation by the Ministry of Health into Ward 10A. On Wednesday the Health NZ board agreed to close Wakari Ward 10a as a forensic intellectual disability (ID) unit, with the future use of the ward yet to be determined.
2 Jul	New programme to fast track bowel cancer care and cut colonoscopy waitlists Health New Zealand is today launching a national initiative, designed to fast track bowel cancer care and reduce colonoscopy waitlists by up to 30 per cent.
1 Jul	Six new Co-Response Team locations announced to strengthen support for people in mental distress The next six locations for Health New Zealand and NZ Police Co-Response Teams have been confirmed, expanding a model that helps people experiencing mental distress receive timely, wraparound support that better meets their health needs.
29 Jun	Mental health and addiction targets progress continues Health New Zealand continues to make important progress against its mental health and addiction targets, meeting four out of five national targets this quarter.
25 Jun	Access to care continuing to improve across a range of health indicators New health data released today shows continued improvement in access to care across a range of health indicators.
18 Jun	Funding "boost" continues dangerous under-funding of aged care The Health Minister’s funding "boost" for aged residential care continues underfunding to the sector and will continue unsafe practices and short staffing, which is putting vulnerable residents at risk, NZNO says.
16 Jun	Labour to make maternity scans free Labour will add free maternity scans to the Medicard alongside three free doctor’s visits a year, so every pregnant woman gets the care she needs.